Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus was one of the largest theropod carnivores alongside Giganotosaurus and Tyrannosaurus rex and likely slightly smaller than Spinosaurus. It was one of the largest of the carcharodontosaurid theropod family, and it lived in North Africa from 105-94 million years ago. It grew to be 43 feet (13 meters) long, 18.5 feet (5.7 meters) tall, and 7 tons in weight. Paleontologists once thought that Carcharodontosaurus had the longest skull of any of the theropod dinosaurs. However, the premaxilla and quadrate bones were missing from the original African skull, which led to misinterpretion of its actual size by researchers. A more modest length of five feet, four inche s (1.6 meters) has now been proposed. Thus, the honor of the largest theropod skull now belongs to another huge carcharodontosaurid dinosaur, Carcharodontosaurus' close relative Giganotosaurus. Discovery Carcharodontosaurus fossils were first found by Charles Depéret and J. Savornin in North Africa in 1927. Originally called Megalosaurus saharicus, its name was changed in 1931 by Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach t o that used today. These first fossils of Carcharodontosaurus were destroyed during World War II. However, cranial material from a Carcharodontosaurus was again discovered in North Africa in 1996 by paleontologist Paul Sereno. Stephen Brusatte and Paul Sereno (2005) reported a second species of Carcharodontosaurus differing from C. saharicus in some aspects of the maxilla and braincase. The new species, which was discovered in Niger, is called C.iguidensis ''but recently new studies have brought to light that this dinosaur was a chimera. Description ''Carcharodontosaurus was a carnivore, with enormous jaws and long, serrated teeth up to eight inches long. It may have hunted in packs like its smaller cousin Allosaurus, but no fossil evidence of this exists. It may have been a scavenger as well as an active predator. It had a large head with over 60 8-inch (19 cm.), blade-like teeth, which were designed to pierce and tear apart the flesh of its prey, which mostly consisted of the large sauropod Paralititan and a hadrosaur called Ouranosaurus. It's arms were somewhat short, but still longer than T. rex's and still quite strong. They had three claws on each of its fingers, which could've been used to get a better grab on some of its smaller prey. It is usually considered to be long from 12 to 13 meters (40-43 feet) but in Paul Sereno, from a skull length of 1 meter and 60 centimeters, has estimated a length of about 14 meters (46 feet). However, this is only an estimate, and some recent studies it seems that the dimenione the animal has been overestimated. Carcharodontosaurus had long, muscular legs, and fossilized trackways indicate th at it could run about 20 miles per hour, although there is some controversy as to whether it actually did, because of its huge body mass. The brain endocast and inner ear anatomy of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus resembled modern crocodilians (Larsson, 2001). The size of the cerebrum relative to the total brain was similar to modern non-avian reptiles, but small relative to coelurosaurian theropods and birds. Ongoing discoveries and research by scientists will certainly shed further light on the physiology, behavior, and environmental circumstances and interactions of Carcharodontosaurus. The portion of the brain involving smell is quite large in Carhcarodontosaurus, suggesting a good sense of smell, probably even better than today's dogs. We've also found that its hearing was also quite keen, however, its sight was limited because of the fact that its eyes were on the side of its head instead of straight forward like modern-day lions, dogs, or humans. Environment Carcharodontosaurus lived in what is now Northern Africa from 105 to 94 million years ago. South America had likely just broken apart from Africa during that time, and it's probably why Carcharodontosaurus and its relatives from South America are so alike in appearance. It's environment was likely very warm and humid, with many rivers and lakes flowing through, considering Spinosaurus and Sarcosuchus (both aquatic/semi-aquatic predators) have been found in the same location. Although dry and barren now, North Africa was likely very lush and full of life, including several rainforests. The elevation was flat, and there were many marches and plains around. Carhcarodontosaurus shared this lush habitat with prey items like the sailed hadrosaur Ouranosaurus and huge sauropods like Paralititan. Although it was likely top-predator in the area, Carhcarodontosaurus was probably very territorial and had large areas of territory, which would likely have to fight for against rivals and other huge predators in the area, like Spinosaurus and Sarcosuchus, and even relatives like Sauroniops, Deltadromeus, and Bahariasaurus. Popular Culture *''Carcharodontosaurus'' appears in the game: Jurassic Park Operation Genesis. *It was featured in Monsters Resurrected losing to Spinosaurus. *It can be created from DNA in Jurassic Park Builder. *At the end of Series 3 of Primeval, the theropods in the background were probably Carcharodontosaurus. *''Carcharodontosaurus'' is incorrectly shown to live in South America in Dinosaur Planet and as predators of Saltasaurus. Carcharodontosaurus ''actually came from Africa, although South America was home to its fellow relatives ''Giganotosaurus, Tyrannotitan and Mapusaurus. *''Carcharodontosaurus'' appears in Lost World ''from ''Planet Dinosaur, where it is despicted to fight for land and loses to Spinosaurus over a fight for an Ouranosaurus ''carcass, however, the wounds it gave the other theropod became infected and helped to ultimately kill it. It reappears in ''New Giants where it fights a Sarcosuchus ''over a juvenile ''Paralititan. *A Carcharodontosaurus named Big Red appears in the Ashlym film 100 Million B.C., however since they were in South A carch256.jpg Carch.png gfv.jpg imagesCAB8MPTL.jpg Carcharodontosaurusprofile.JPG Gb carcharodontosaurus detail.jpg 100millionbc004.jpg|100 Million B.C. Big Red Carcharodontosaurus 07 Carcharodontosaurus.jpg carcharodontosaurus_300_196.jpg carcharodontosaurus_by_epic3d.jpg Carcharodontosaurushead.jpg|Carcharodontosaurus Head Model Carcharodontosaurus-Robert-Nicholls.jpg charcarodontosaurus_and_aegyptosaurus_db.jpg CarcharodontosaurusPD.jpg CarcharodontosaurusDinoKing|Dinosaur King Carcharodontosaurus merica it should've been referred to as a Giganotosaurus, Mapusaurus, or Tyrannotitan. *''Carcharodontosaurus'' also makes a few cameos in Dinosaur King. http://www.projectexploration.org/carcharodontosaurus.htm See Also Websites: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcharodontosaurus Carcharodontosaurus on]Wikipedia http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/Carcharodontosaurus http://www.projectexploration.org/carcharodontosaurus.htm http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/species/c/carcharodontosaurus.html http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/CARCHARODONTOSAURUS http://theropods.blogspot.com/2011/03/theropod-size-part-ii.html Documentaries: Planet Dinosaur Dinosaur Planet Beyond T. rex T. rex: Clash of the Titans Monsters Resurrected: Biggest Killer Dino Books: Vertebrate Paleontology; Michael J. Benton Ultimate Book of Dinosaurs; by Paul Dowswell, John Malam, Paul Mason, Steve Parker Category:Carnosaurs Category:Dinosaurs of Africa Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Allosaurs Category:Theropods Category:Carnivores Category:Large Carnivores Category:Saurischia Category:Saurischians Category:Carcharodontosaurids Category:Apex predators Category:Archosaurs Category:Cretaceous Period Category:Cretaceous animals Category:Middle Cretaceous Dinosaurs Category:Prehistoric Life Category:Reptiles Category:Early Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Early Cretaceous Reptiles Category:Middle Cretaceous Reptiles Category:Diapsid Reptiles